November 18, 2013Richard MillingtonComments Off on Call for Speakers – Virtual Community Summit (London, Feb 20)

On Feb 20, we’re hosting the Virtual Community Summit. This is an annual gathering, in London, of the world’s top community professionals.

This year we’re exploring the science behind communities. We want to investigate how proven social science can be used to build better communities. If you're an expert in this field (and you’re good on stage) put yourself forward to speak.

We’re specifically looking for topics that cover the following fields with special attention to how they affect communities:

Psychology

Social-psychology

Anthropology

Community development

Data and statistics

We’re probably looking for specialists outside the traditional community speakers’ circuit. We want people that can explain the theory and how it applies to communities. Case studies are very much welcomed here.

A few rules for speakers

Before you make a submission, a few rules about talks this year.

1) Make short, sharp, factual, actionable points.

There is a big gap between things that are interesting and things that are actionable. Focus on the later. What will people do differently as a result of what you’ve told them?

Support your points with data/theory that others can see. Make a point, then prove the point, then explain the implications of that point. Then include that implication in your summary.

Everyone has opinions. We want the facts. Tell the audience what they need to know, not everything you know. This isn’t a talk to prove how smart you are, it’s a talk to change how the audience builds communities. Focus on that ‘change’.

2) Prove your points. If you make a big statement, back it up with data. Understand that data. What was the sample size, how reliable is it, what are the counterpoints? How much can we generalize this? If you use a survey from 100 moms in one community and apply it to all communities around the world, we’re going to challenge you.

3) Don’t go overtime. You have 15 minutes and 5 minutes for questions. If you go on longer than 15 minutes we’ll stop you. Practice your talk, cut out everything that doesn’t need to be on there. After 15 minutes we’ll cut off your microphone. We don’t do this to be mean, we do this so all the speakers have equal time to speak.

4) Don’t pitch. We fully intend to bring an air-horn to this event. If you try to pitch, we’ll use it. We’re not joking.

5) Use the SUCCES formula. If it helps, use the succes formula. Make your talk Simple, Unexpected, Concrete (specific), Credible (backed by data), Emotional, and explained via a story.

6) Include a handout. We’ll take care of the printing. Provide us with a practical handout that people can use. Bonus points if it’s in the form of a flow chart, checklist, or specific action steps.

7) Do something interesting. Yes, you can use powerpoint…but why limit yourself to that? If you want to stand out, stand out. Bring an inflatable dingy and do your talk while pretending to ride that if you like. Just make it interesting. Please run any pyrotechnics past us first. Make your talk real. If you’re showcasing social sciences, then use social sciences within that group right there and then.

Target Groups

The target audience for this audience includes:

C-Level Execs

Community Directors/Strategists

Community managers

Moderators

Social media professionals

Solo entrepreneurs

Start-up professionals

PR professionals,

Marketers

And others

Deadline for submissions

Dec 31 – Submit your proposal. This is the final deadline. If we get enough talks we like before then, we’ll go with that. So don’t wait until the last minute (in fact, send us your proposal this minute!)

Jan 3rd – Notification. We don’t wait around. Once we get your proposal we’ll review it immediately and decide if it’s a great fit for the event. If you’re not chosen, don’t be disheartened. It might be we have 5 talks on a very similar topic and have to pick one. It might be you’re too late.

Feb 1 – Complete presentation. We need the presentation complete by Feb 1. That might be the slides or whatever else you need to prepare. This gives you enough time to practice it and us to give some feedback on the talk.

Feb 2 – 6 – Practice session. We’re going to have a practice session. There are three reasons for this. First, if anyone drops out, we have a recorded session we can use as a backup. Second, it allows us to give feedback and work together to ensure the presentation is fantastic. Third, and I hate to admit this, it ensures you have actually got this done in time.